Category Archives: Uncategorized

Your new Library Search is here!

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With a new academic year approaching, the Library has launched its new and improved Library Search tool. Library Search offers improved discovery and access to the University’s wealth of online and print resources.

Both Library Search and the Special Collections and Archives Catalogue are at the heart of your new-look Library webpage.

Both Library Search and the Special Collections and Archives Catalogue are at the heart of your new-look Library webpage.

The default ‘Articles + more’ option acts as an all-in-one gateway to your rich collection of online and print resources (including Open Research Exeter), allowing you to search and identify the material you need down to individual article level. Switch to the ‘Catalogue’ option to focus your search to particular book and journal titles held by the Library.

'Articles + more'

Use ‘Articles + more’ to search our extensive range of resources down to article level.

Along with a cleaner look and feel, additional functionality has been added to streamline your searching experience. You can now use a range of new filters on the left of the results page to refine your search. Filter by publication date, source type, journal title and more, to give yourself the best chance of finding the resources you need. Through Library Search, you can also access online articles, export citations to EndNote and create a folder of saved items directly from your search results page.

The old ‘Electronic Library A-Z’ has also been replaced by an improved ‘A-Z Databases’ hub in our new LibGuides platform. As well as locating databases alphabetically, you can filter the collection by subject area or resource type and gain access to our new Subject Guides, which offer in-depth, tailored Library support for individual subject disciplines.

'A-Z Databases'

Your A-Z database list can now be accessed through our new LibGuides platform.

In addition to the host of new options, Library Search has retained a number of core elements from the previous catalogue. You can use Library Search to access your Library account and still have access to a detailed ‘Advanced Search’ function. We have also retained a link to the ‘Classic Catalogue’, for those who retain a fondness for the old interface.

You can find Library Search in a number of convenient locations online:

You can also click here to access Library Search and bookmark your direct link.

We have also produced a Library Search mini-guide, which includes a series of tips and instructional videos that will help you make the most of your Library Search.

As always, if you have any questions, please get in touch via email: 

London Low Life – new online resource

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LLL

The University now has access to the London Low Life. This full-text searchable resource, contains colour digital images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 18th, 19th and early 20th century London.

Take a look at the short introductory video to get a flavour of this fascinating resource

London Low Life brings to life the teeming streets of Victorian London, inviting students and scholars to explore the gin palaces, brothels and East End slums of the nineteenth century’s greatest city.

From salacious ‘swell’s guides’ to scandalous broadsides and subversive posters, the material sold and exchanged on London’s bustling thoroughfares offers an unparalleled insight into the dark underworld of the city. Children’s chapbooks, street cries, slang dictionaries and ballads were all part of a vibrant culture of street literature.

Topics covered include:

  • The underworld
  • Slang
  • Working-class culture
  • Street literature
  • Popular music
  • Urban topography
  • ‘Slumming’
  • Prostitution
  • The Temperance Movement
  • Social reform
  • Toynbee Hall
  • Police and criminality

This is also an incredible visual resource for students and scholars of London, with many full colour maps, cartoons, sketches and a full set of the essential Tallis’ Street Views of London – a unique resource for the study of London architecture and commerce.

This interactive mapping enables users to overlay Victorian cartography over a modern, searchable base map and:

  • Visualise core data about Victorian London, including the boundaries of local government, population size, density and growth, crime and poverty data
  • Locate and read about key institutions: workhouses, orphanages, asylums, prisons, religious missions, etc
  • Walk’ through London’s main streets with 3D versions of the Tallis Street Views

 

Library Maintenance Finished

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Thank you for your patience, we have completed our system maintenance and all our services should be back up and running.

You can now issue and return items as normal in the Forum Library . Plus you should be able to access and use all our online resources and the catalogue.

If you do encounter any problems please e.mail us at library@exeter.ac.uk

 

Library System Maintenance Monday 21st November

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There will be Library System Maintenance on Monday 21st November starting at 16.00pm and hopefully finishing around 20.00pm although the system is “at risk” after this time.

We apologise that there is no access to the catalogue during this period. Exeter University Holdings can be found via Copac http://copac.jisc.ac.uk

In the Forum Library you will be able to borrow items by taking them to the member of staff at the front of the library and you will be able to return any materials via the Drop box but not the Returns machine.

You can still access our online resources via our provided list and via your bookmarks

Any problems please do get in touch via email : library@exeter.ac.uk

During the maintenance – accessing bookmarked e-resources

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If you have bookmarked your favourite e-resources you can access them via the following methods whilst the catalogue is unavailable –

OPTION 1

Find the resource via a web search and look for an option to login via the site.  This will usually be signed as something like ‘login via your institution’, ‘Shibboleth’ or ‘UK Federation’.  Then select ‘University of Exeter’ and login normally.

OPTION 2

Find the resource but if you get an error message  like ‘502 bad gateway’ error then amend as follows.

Have a look at the link you are trying to access: if it has the bits in red and bold

0-dx.doi.org.lib.exeter.ac.uk/10.1017/CBO9780511729973.

Then remove these from the link so it looks like this  –

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511729973

Once you have done this, go to the site and login as in option 1.

OPTION 3

Have a look at the link you are trying to access: if it has the bits in bold

0-dx.doi.org.lib.exeter.ac.uk/10.1017/CBO9780511729973.

Then remove these from the link so it looks like this  –

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511729973

and it should work.

If you are off campus and having problems with this method, you need to go via the VPN and also remove the parts from the link as above.

If you need help please get in touch with us at: Email:

 

Phone:
+44 (0) 1392 723867

International Open Access Week 2016

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This year’s theme of “Open in Action” is all about taking concrete steps to open up research and scholarship and encouraging others to do the same.

OAWLogoIn the spirit of Open Access Week, here’s a quick look at the importance of Data Management Plans.

Every research proposal needs to have a data management plan (DMP) either as part of a funding application or as part of the University’s policy requirements. This document contains all the information related to the management of the research data of your project.
Why do you need a data management plan?
Your data management and sharing plan involves making decisions at the outset of your research to decide:
• Which software to use
• How to organise, store and manage your data
• What to include in the consent agreements you negotiate
These decisions will all affect the future use of your data. Most funders expect a short statement to be submitted with your grant proposal, outlining your plans for data management and data sharing.

What’s in a data management plan?
Generally, a DMP covers 5 themes:
• What data will be created?
• How will the data be documented and described?
• How you will manage ethics and your intellectual property rights (IPR)?
• What are the plans for data sharing and access?
• What is the strategy for long-term preservation and sustainability?
The specific questions asked in each of these sections depends on the funding body to which you are applying. However, they are all designed to cover every step of your project – this is why they are such a useful tool.

Templates and examples
The best place to start when writing a DMP is the DMPonline tool from the Digital Curation Centre (DCC), which:
• Has templates for most of the UK, EU and US funders, plus a generic template suitable for any project
• Provides expert guidance from the DCC for each section of each template along with guidance from the funder where available
• Exports in a variety of formats, including PDF and Microsoft Word
For more information, see:
• How to develop a data management plan (Digital Curation Centre) — includes a checklist and examples
• Your funder’s website
If you can’t find an example for your research, further advice and assistance is available by email: rdm@exeter.ac.uk.

The Data Dialogue: When Research Crosses Borders

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Science and Engineering South held a one day conference, The Data Dialogue: When Research Crosses Borders, on September 29th at the University of Oxford. The event was well-attended by a good mix of researchers and research data practitioners. In his opening address Simon Hodson, representing CODATA, addressed the topic of Open Data and the Data Revolution: Challenges and opportunities for Global Research. Among the issues addressed were the principles of legal interoperability and coordinating data standards within the science community.
This was followed by a presentation by Rowan Wilson who works within Oxford’s Academic IT Research Support unit. Rowan described the range of issues and questions that are most commonly presented by researchers at Oxford, many of which were closely identified with by other practitioners in the audience. The day unfolded with a series of presentations by researchers detailing their personal experience in data collection relating to their own field of study, and the particular challenges and inspirations that this work delivered by this research.
– Prof Mary Bosworth on collecting data from those being detained in UK detention centres
– Dr Troy Sternberg offered a fascinating insight into his data collection work in Mongolia and China; the effect of regional ideologies was highlighted in terms of how the data was presented and delivered to its audience.
– Dr Julie Viebach on the profound personal experience involved in collecting data from the survivors of genocide in Rwanda
– Dr Heather Hamill addressed the issue of establishing trust between subject and interviewer in relation to her work with communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
– Gareth Knight from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talked about the particular challenges associated with medical research data collection.
The programme was concluded by a panel discussion focused on answering questions posed by audience members. Some of the most discussed topics were those around security measures and cloud computing, ownership of data, and the huge benefits that can be gained from data sharing. Perhaps a fair summary of the discussion is that a ‘one size fits all’ solution is not always possible, but that making data open should not be a binary choice between either ‘open’ or ‘closed’: there are many solutions available which allow for sharing and it is always best to consider and discuss these. The EC slogan ‘As open as possible, as closed as necessary’ was mentioned in this context.
The one key idea I took away from the day (and perhaps one it would be wise to promote as widely as possible) were the words of Simon Hodson: “The first person you share your data with is your future self”.